Flagstaff Star Party
Volunteer Telescope Hosts
The Star Party runs on volunteer telescope hosts. You bring the wonder of a star-filled universe to your neighbors, and you keep the event free for everyone who walks in.
500 to 1,500 people attend each night. The guidelines below keep everyone safe and keep us in compliance with Buffalo Park regulations.
Setup and logistics
Setup opens at 4 pm
Telescope setup begins promptly at 4 pm at your assigned location.
Drive in to unload only
You may drive your equipment to your spot, but please move your vehicle to the parking lot as soon as you have unloaded.
No vehicles in the park until 10 pm
Your car stays in the lot for the duration of the event.
Battery power only
If your setup needs electrical power, it has to run on batteries. There is no power at the sites.
Plan to stay until 10 pm
Please stay on site through the end of the event. Packing up early leaves a gap in the line of telescopes and a lot of disappointed guests.
Our thanks: the host reception
FDSC, our sponsors, and our partners invite you and up to two assistants or family members to an invitation-only reception at Dark Sky Brewing on Saturday, October 3, 2026 from 12 to 2 pm. Food and a drink are on us!
Why we don’t allow digital imaging
The Flagstaff Star Party is unlike any other star party: it happens in the middle of a city of 77,000 people rather than at a remote site. That is the whole point. Hosted by the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition in the world’s first International Dark Sky City, the event shows what people can still see from a city that has taken light pollution seriously.
FDSC envisions a world in which everyone can see the Milky Way where they live.
When guests see the Milky Way with their own eyes at Buffalo Park, that is the proof. Binoculars and telescopes extend it, revealing faint objects that would be lost from most cities this size.
Digital imagers integrate and stack many frames to cut noise, which produces a clean image even under badly light-polluted skies. That hides the very thing we are demonstrating, so the FDSC Board of Directors has elected to prohibit the use of digital imaging devices at the Flagstaff Star Party. We ask that hosts offer guests the view through the eyepiece.
Ready to host?
Sign up and we will send you your assigned location and setup details.